LONDON: A chunk of Brazilian conillon coffee has been tendered against the ICE futures market this month, as persistently high robusta prices this season have made the ageing beans more attractive to buyers. Some 23,250 tonnes of conillon coffee was tendered against the July expiry as of July 18, ICE exchange data shows.

Some traders believe the coffee may have been sold to a roaster, possibly for shipment to North America where conillons are more widely used than in Europe. The change in ownership of the coffee could alternatively be part of an attempt by a trade house to gain a strategic grip on certified stocks.

Dealers said most of the conillon beans tendered have been in European ICE-certified warehouses since 2015, after a large harvest the previous year and a sharp fall in the Brazilian real encouraged a wave of shipments overseas.

“It got cheaper and cheaper, with the age penalties doing their work,” said one European coffee trader. “So now you are seeing the old and dusty coffee changing hands.”

Conillons, although not widely used by European roasters due to their distinctive taste, are tenderable on the London futures market.

As robusta prices shot up this year on the back of tighter supplies from Brazil and Vietnam, the conillon’s deepening age discount has boosted its appeal and potentially made it economically viable to ship the coffee to North America.

The conillon coffee in Europe was graded at different times and is discounted at varying levels, but three dealers said they are likely priced at a discounts between $70 and $110 to the futures market.—Reuters